When compared to political revolutions, it has never been exactly clear what economic revolutions entail nor how long they take. But it is clear that these economic revolutions combine multiple change and adaptation processes, whether one talks of periods of fundamental economic transformation as “revolutions,” beginning with the first agricultural revolution in the fertile crescent…
A potentially important step toward a new social contract
As a democracy, Lebanon has a sovereign. This sovereign—which the constitution affirms to be the people of Lebanon—has, for the longest time, appeared remarkably unconcerned over a very specific dereliction of duty by its public officials. The dereliction in question was the government’s serial failure to produce a sane, credible, and timely budget, and the…
Banks have done a lot for Lebanon, they deserve our trust
Banks have offered much to Lebanon. They have financed the country’s public and private sector needs for the entirety of the post-conflict years. They stood throughout the 1990s with a people scarred by violence and economic trauma. Through the 2000s, they stayed at the side of a state that was under constant financial pressures. In…
Freshwater sites need to be protected and promoted
Various stakeholders—from the current and previous ministers of tourism and heads of hospitality-related syndicates to restaurant operators and local retail business owners—have all said that tourism was a main driver of the Lebanese economy. Speaking at a March conference on tourism entitled “Towards Sustainable Tourism,” Prime Minister Hariri said he believed that the total contribution…
Lebanese design deserves attention
Design, as the fruit of creativity that enables its user to co-define and express their identity, while optimally matching form and function of a product or process, has been around for as long humans have had the capacity to imagine. Lebanon is a great example for the presence of design throughout the history of people…
Time for a change
In most Arab countries, Mother’s Day is celebrated on March 21. On this day, a woman’s role as a mother, the giver of life and the nurturer, is suitably enough recognized on the first day of spring, the season which marks nature’s rebirth. This is a widely celebrated day in Lebanon, with queues forming outside…
An uninspiring economic vision
In January, Lebanon published slides outlining McKinsey’s economic vision—the outcome of a report commissioned by the Ministry of Economy and Trade in late 2017 following government discussions. The 1,274-slide document was developed over the first half of 2018, and outlines an economic vision produced by the consulting firm and owned by the government. If…
McKinsey’s uninspiring economic vision
In January, Lebanon published McKinsey’s economic vision slides that were the result of government discussions in late 2017 on commission by the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The 1,274 slide show document was developed over the first half of 2018, and can be seen as an economic vision outsourced to the consulting firm with ownership…
Opportunites for new startups abound
Near the center of Beirut sits the heart of Lebanon’s startup ecosystem, the Beirut Digital District. It is mainly here that Lebanon’s entrepreneurs gather to pitch and develop solutions to problems that are uniquely Lebanese, and others that are less so. The country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem today faces challenges that are not insurmountable, and there are…
Lebanon in need of a housing policy
There is a perception among Lebanese that the state is unresponsive to the needs of the public—it’s easy to understand why people might think that. For much of their thrice-extended mandate, from 2009 until May’s parliamentary elections, lawmakers neglected to legislate, the presidency was vacant for two and a half years, and laws that were…